Monday, December 3, 2012

Isaiah 8:3


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Isaiah 8:3

3 And I went [qarab] unto the prophetess; [nabiy'ah] and she conceived, [harah] and bare [yalad] a son. [ben] Then said ['amar] the LORD [Yahovah] to me, Call [qara'] his name [shem] Mahershalalhashbaz. [Maher Shalal Chash Baz] KJV-Interlinear

3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz;  NASB

Prophetess, ‘nabiyah,’ means inspired woman, and when used in association with someone else who is a prophet, namely Isaiah, she is called a prophetess, or Isaiah’s wife.  This title does not indicate that she had any sort of spiritual gifts or powers.

The mere fact that Isaiah used this term here rather than saying his wife, or naming his wife, indicates that his wife was knowledgeable of the scriptures as they had them in that day, and that she was in complete agreement with the instructions that God had given Isaiah. 

They were to have a child and it would be a son and his name was to be Mahershalalhashbaz, which means hasten to the spoil or plunder speeds hastens spoil.

Needless to say, all of this activity would have had to cover a period of at least nine months, and perhaps a bit longer.

This verse also indicates the huge attitude difference between Isaiah and his wife, and the king and attitude of the people in general.

Isaiah took God at his word and did not hesitate.  Most likely these activities within his marriage occurred naturally and in due course, and without special arrangement.  Isaiah and his wife would not have changed the routines of their marriage for this to occur.

In contrast the general public consensus as to the word of God was looked at with doubt and unbelief.

By the time the child is born, most probably everyone would have already forgotten about this prophecy, thus the written document to help support this prophecy.  That document would have been written many months prior to the birth of the child.  This all giving just that much more credibility as to the words spoken by God through Isaiah.

So, we all have the Bible before us.  The Bible was compiled since the time of Adam and assembled in written form since the time of Moses.  The Old Testament was written over the period from about 1500 B.C. to the final book which was written around 400 B.C.  Or, it took about 1100 years to complete the Old Testament.

As the to the New Testament, the writing time was much shorter, or about sixty years give or take, from perhaps 35 A.D. to 96 A.D., when John wrote the final book of Revelation.  Then the written scriptures were closed and no more revelations were forth coming from God.

And as to you, the Bible is now before you.  It has been written, and how much of it have you actually read?  How much of is do you understand?  How much of it do you agree with?  And how much of it do you believe or accept?  Isaiah’s generation had the written word and the signs provided.  You have the written word and you have the many indications from history and the world around you, but do you see them?